Spiny

Spinies are a red shelled species of Koopa that walk on all fours. They are encountered alone or in small groups, and are almost always tossed out onto the ground by Lakitu. They vary in size from small to large and have large white spines that cover their shell, hence the name.

The first game in which spinies played a large role is in Super Mario Bros. for the SNES. They are first seen at the beginning of the game with Bowser. During gameplay they are always tossed out into Mario's path by Lakitu. They can not be jumped on and can only be defeated by Fire Mario, or Invincible Mario.

Spinies appear in Super Mario Bros. 3 where they are again thrown into Mario's path by Lakitu. They can be defeated in this game using various power ups such as the Fire Flower, Hammer Bro. Suit, or Starman. Mario can also use his tail while Raccoon Mario or Tanooki Mario to flip Spinies onto their backs for him to pick up and throw. This is the first game in which some Spinies can cling to the ceiling and drop down in front of Mario.

Spinies first 3D appearance occurred in Super Mario 64 and later in Super Mario 64 DS which is a remake of the original game. In both games Spinies roles are identical and they only appear in a few levels. As usual Lakitu is here to toss them out in front of Mario.

Spinies appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 where they play the same role as in Super Mario 64. They are again thrown out into Mario's path by Lakitu. In this game however Mario can use Yoshi to defeat them by grabbing them with his tongue. It takes two hits to grab them, after the first hit they will turn into a Spiny Egg and than after this happens Yoshi can grab them. He can then hold one in his mouth and spit it out at other Spinies or enemies.

Spinies make their first more modern 2D appearance in New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS. Again in this game their roles are exactly the same being thrown out by Lakitu into Mario or Luigi's path. They are also encountered on their own without Lakitu. They can be defeated using a Fire Flower or other power ups. They also appear in the world-7 boss battle where Lakithunder throws them out at Mario.

Again Spinies appear in New Super Bros. Wii and play pretty much the excact same role as in New Super Mario Bros.Spinies are thrown out yet again by Lakitu in this game, and they are also encountered on their own. They typically cling to the ceiling and drop down when Mario gets close enough. Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad can defeat them using a Fire Flower or Ice Flower. The ice balls given to them by the Ice Flower will allow them to freeze the Spinies into a block of ice which can then be picked up and thrown. Yoshi can also be used to grab them in this game and throw them at enemies.

Spinies also appear in Super 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. They appear alone in this game without Lakitu and they are fairly large. They chase after Mario when they see him. They can be defeated using Tanooki Mario's tail which can whack them without feeling the effects of the spikes. They can also be defeated using other power ups as well.